Understand

Bursa lies in the northwestern part of Turkey near the Sea of Marmara, about 20 km inland.

Bursa was the first major city the Ottomans, who started as a small emirate in the countryside just east of Bursa, had taken control of. As such, it served as the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire, from 1326, when it was captured from the Byzantines, to 1365, when the capital was moved to Edirne in European Turkey, as sultans started to turn their attention to Europe. Most of the historic sights of the city date back to this early period of the Ottomans.

Today, with a population of more than 2,500,000, Bursa is the fourth largest city in Turkey after Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. It is famous for its peach, chestnut, and silk, although lately, heavy industry located in the outskirts of the city has surpassed these traditional industries.

Furthermore, Uludağ—one of the highest mountains in the Turkey—lies very close to Bursa and is the main winter sports center of Turkey.

Get in

By plane

An airport serving domestic and a couple of international flights can be found in Bursa (Yenişehir Airport, IATA: YEI, ICAO: LTBR). However, in order to get to Bursa from most countries by plane, you will have to take a transit flight via one of Turkey's international airports. Istanbul's Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen are the nearest major international airports, and with a ferry connection, form the most common way of getting to the city.

Domestic

By train

There is no railway in and around Bursa.

However, when coming from Ankara, you can take the high-speed train (YHT) to Eskişehir, which is located about the mid-way, and then transfer to the bus heading for Bursa there, which is provided by Turkish State Railways and departs right in front of the station. This combined trip takes around 4 hours (as opposed to 5 and a half hours by bus only), and there are seven fast train departures daily from Ankara.

By car

Highways that are fairly wide and in good condition connect the city to north (D575/E881, from İzmit, Yalova, and Istanbul, the shortest route from last of which involves taking a ferry to Yalova), west (D200/E90 from Balıkesir with a connection to D565 from Izmir in the southwest), and east (D200/E90 from Eskişehir and Ankara, with a connection to D650 from Antalya in the south).

By bus

There are bus services from all major cities to Bursa such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya. Prices vary from 10 to 50 Euros based on the distance.
All intercity buses will leave you at the very modern Terminal Bus Station about 10kms outside the city on the Istanbul motorway. Take the very frequent turquoise coloured buses marked 'HEYKEL' which will let you off right in the centre of Bursa opposite Ulucamii or the Great Mosque (or alternatively you can take the yellow bus 38 from the terminal into downtown - to return to the bus terminal get on the same bus going in the same direction, as #38 goes in a loop between downtown and the bus terminal - 2 TL to buy a ticket, available at many kiosks on the street).

By boat

Güzelyalı is about 20km from Bursa so buses meet the ferry to take passengers to Organize Sanayi metro station (30mins - 3 Lira) in the outer suburbs of the city.

Take the metro to downtown Bursa - get off at Şehre Küstü station for the old section of the city close to the market area (30mins - 2 Lira). The whole journey from Istanbul to the centre of Bursa will take about 2.5 to 3 hours.

It's also possible to transit through Yalova fast ferry jetty, about an hour bus ride (which costs 9 TL pp) north of Bursa.

All of the ferries are operated by İDO[10]. Tickets can be booked online.

Get around

The city has a metro line connecting downtown with suburbs in the northwest. There is also an extensive bus and dolmuş network. The dolmuşes in Bursa are more likely to be a normal looking white car with a sign on the roof rather than the yellow minibuses that are common in Istanbul.

The Bursa Metro is called Bursaray - for information in Turkish: Bursaray and a map

See

Mosques

Ulucami, (in downtown), [1]. The "great mosque" of Bursa. Built in early Ottoman period, in 1399, it resembles more of earlier Seljuq buildings of inland Anatolia than the typical Ottoman mosques such as Blue Mosque of Istanbul built later.

Orhan Camii ve Külliyesi (Orhan Mosque)

Yeşil Camii(Green Mosque)This mosque is in the Yesil or 'green' district of Bursa just left over the bridge. It contains a wonderful Turbe or tomb completely covered by tiles inside and out. The mosque opposite is very unusual in that it has a fountain inside the prayer area - with lots of legends attached to it. It is also built in a cruciform shape. No one knows why. Beside it are tea gardens with spectacular views over the Bursa valley and Uludag mountain.

Emir Sultan Camii

Muradiye Camii

Hüdavendigar Camii

Yıldırım Camii

Koca Sinan Paşa

İshak Paşa Külliyeleri

Celal Bayar Müzesi

Tombs

Yeşil Türbe(Green Tomb) is the tomb of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I (1412-1420) and is the iconic monument of the city.

Emir Sultan Türbesi

Gazi Timurtaş Paşa Türbesi

""Gazi Osman Türbesi"" is the tomb of the first Ottoman sultan located in the Tophane district

""Orhan Gazi Türbesi"" is the tomb of the father of the first Ottoman sultan, Osman. It's located immediately next to his son's tomb in the Tophane district.

Historical Trees

İnkaya — a huge centuries-old (well, approximately 600 years, to be precisely) plane (Platanus orientalis) tree with an open-air café sheltered by its deep shadow, on the foothills of (and just off the road to) Uludağ.

Historical Buildings

Darüzziyafe. A poorhouse during the Ottoman period, this building now serves as a family restaurant (with no alcohol service).It is a stunningly restored building in the Muradiye district of Bursa. The garden has wonderful views of Bursa. The cuisine is pure Ottoman and difficult to find in a modern Turkish city.[11]

Sarı Konak In Tophane.

Balıbey Han

Koza Han

Irgandı Köprüsü (Bridge)in Setbasi.Its an old version of shopping malls.There are small shops on bridge.

Old villages

Cumalıkızık A village founded more than 700 years old. There are 265 centuries-old half timbered houses in the village and approximately 190 of them are still occupied.

Do

Yeni Kaplica (Termal Hotel and Baths), Kukurtlu Mh. Cekirge Cadd (Immediately down from the Celik Palais Hotel), ☎0224 2366968, [2]. An experience not to be missed while visiting Bursa for anyone interested in a relaxing thermal bath. The mineral water boils up from below the extensive baths built in 1555 and flows into a large central pool from a lion's head fixed into the wall. The baths are anything but touristy but the staff are used to tourists. Not a word of Turkish is necessary! The building remains unchanged since it was built by the Vizer 'Kara Mustafa' or 'Black Mustafa'. It is a large multi roomed building with a wonderful sense of space and proportion. it is modeled on the Roman Baths rather than a hamam as pools - or non-flowing water were never permitted under Islam. This is the exception. A good rubdown (kese) and a massage are essential. Afterwards just go for a nap in one of the beds provided wrapped in towels. Bliss.12 tl.

Turkish Baths

Since Bursa lies on a geologically-active area, the place is rich in mineral waters and accordingly is famous for its traditional baths.

Keçeli Hamamı. For women. More than 600 years old and renewed.

Umurbey Hamamı

Yeşil Hamamı

Beyaz Saray Hamamı. For men. In Altıparmak.

Kervan Saray Hamamı For Women and For Men ,in CEKIRGE district.The Hamam has a nice pool.Its so clean and hygienic.

Learn

Work

Buy

Silk - one of the major industries of Bursa in the past, this is still one of the major draws of Bursa.

Koza Han (Silk Bazaar), (in downtown, very near Ulucami), [3]. M-Sa 8AM-8PM. Silk bazaar dating back to 1491. Think of a very historical mall devoted only to silk.

Eat

Try the İskender kebap, a dish originated from Bursa. İskender consists of roasted, sliced lamb spread atop diced bread pieces, topped with tomato sauce, served with yoghurt. A similar dish, meatballs instead of sliced lamb only, would be Pideli Köfte which is definitely cheaper and perhaps more delicious. Go to Kayhan Carsisi, very close to Heykel, for best options. Candied Chestnut is the best choice for dessert but sadly you cannot get it from a restaurant.

İskender, Ünlü Cadde (near Heykel), [4]. Restaurant is named after the dish since the owners are descendants of the person who "invented" the dish.

Pidecioğlu, Bozkurt Caddesi (just off Altiparmak Caddesi, near the Bursaspor stadium). Another good İskender kebab restaurant.

Cicek IZGARA.Its famous meat balls restaurant.Lots of Turkish novelists mentioned this place on their books .Its loacted in HEYKEL and easy to go there from ULU CAMI . Adres: Belediye cad.No:15 HeykelOsmangazi/BURSA

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Typical Turkish People like drinking tea and Turkish Coffee at Cafes and KOZAHAN is best place for it .Its located in HEYKEL district .Its a gardens of historical malls where Queen Elizabeth viseted there in May 2008

Sleep

Budget

Açelya Hotel, İnönü Caddesi 73 (city center; from the main bus terminal take bus 38, get off a few stops after the Grand Mosque), ☎+90 224 223-01-66 ([email protected], fax: +90 224 221-42-75). Clean and small hotel in the city center. Homely atmosphere. You can walk to Bazaar and historical places from the Hotel easily.

Cesmeli Hotel, Gümüşçeken Cad. 6, ☎+90 224 224 15 11 - 12. right in the heart of Bursa in Heykel this hotel is unusual in that it is owned by two sisters and all the employees are women. The Hotel gets it's name "with drinking fountain" from the fountain in the wall of the hotel - much appreciated by locals in the summer.€ 25/person with breakfast included.

Mid-range

Safran Otel, Ortapazar Cadessi, Arka Sok, 4 (just inside Sultanat Kapi (old city wall gates)), ☎224-7216 ([email protected]). Very nice small hotel in a recently renovated old house close to the centre of town. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Rooms on the ground floor tend to be a little noisy. Note that Googlemaps has this hotel listed twice with one incorrect location. The correct location is just inside the city gate closest to the covered markets.140TL double with breakfast.

The best budget hotel you can stay is "Hotel Gonluferah", around EUR 70 per night, but having rooms with great views of the city as the hotel is located on the way to the Uludag mountain.

Contact

The telephone code of the city is (+90) 224.

Stay safe

Bursa is a safe city. But of course you should always be cautious if you're wandering alone in late night.

Cope

Get out

Other sites and places near the city include

Uludag National Park (Uludağ Milli Parkı) — just south of city, a wintersports resort and hiking destination